Our Aims

The Museum aims to preserve the history of Southend Pier and provide visitors with information on why it was built, how it has changed, its important role during two world wars, survived disasters, and continued to provide pleasure for many generations. The Pier is part of our cultural and sociological heritage and we are working to preserve and conserve those reminders of happy days at the seaside.

To display exhibits - some static, some interactive - together with our collection of pictures and photographs and to provide access to facilities for enjoyment and study of those objects.

To provide a secure and stable environment for the objects in our collection and to conserve each object in good condition.

How you can help

The Museum is a registered charity and is run entirely by volunteers and unpaid professionals who enable us to keep this important part of our heritage alive. We are always looking for volunteers in all aspects of our work. During the summer months we need help to operate the Museum i.e. ticket sales, stewarding, souvenir sales and help to keep the Museum clean. We are closed in the winter months but keep busy preparing for the next season. If you are interested in joining our small but friendly team by helping with documentation, restoration to some exhibits where required, general maintenance and improvements to the interior of the building, please see our Volunteers Page

Donations

The Museum does not have a regular grant income and funding is very limited. In addition to the admission fee, we are always grateful for any additional donations, either from individuals or from corporate sponsors. From April 2013 eligible charities like ourselves are able to claim Gift Aid style top-up payments on small cash donations without requiring the donor to provide a Gift Aid declaration.

Items of Interest

Like many museums, we have limited display space and cannot exhibit all of our collection at any one time. We are always pleased to receive any donated items that might be of interest to the general public but may not be able to have those items on permanent display.

© 2019 Southend Pier Museum